Good Morning! Today’s edition is 1,123 words, a 4-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Iran tightens hijab law

• Spotify Wrapped’s most played artists

• Best cheese in the world

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Editor’s note: I misspelled martial law as 'marshall law' in a headline yesterday, and a couple of you called me out for it. Thanks for keeping me in check. -Adam

Big Story

UnitedHealth CEO Murder

Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance unit, was shot and killed outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

• The shooting happened just before Thompson was scheduled to attend an investor event. The suspect ambushed Thompson, fired multiple shots, and fled the scene on an e-bike toward Central Park. No arrests have been made, and the NYPD is calling it a “premeditated, targeted attack.”

• The NYPD recovered shell casings and a cellphone at the crime scene and is investigating whether a silencer was used. Thompson’s wife revealed that he had received threats related to his work but had not changed his travel habits.

• Thompson, who led the largest private health insurer in the US, had worked at UnitedHealth for over 20 years and was highly respected in the industry. The company canceled its investor event and is now focused on supporting Thompson’s family and employees.

Big Story

Blindness Cure Grant

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have been awarded up to $46 million to develop a groundbreaking treatment to cure blindness.

• The funding comes from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health and will support efforts to make whole-eye transplantation possible. The goal is to restore vision to people with total blindness.

• Dr. Kia Washington, the project leader, explained that no successful whole-eye transplant has ever restored vision in humans. The team will start with animal studies to explore optic nerve regeneration, which is a critical challenge since the optic nerve connects the eye to the brain.

• The research could not only help cure blindness but also lead to treatments for other nerve-related conditions like spinal cord injuries or brain damage.

Big Story

Iran Tightens Hijab Law

The Iranian parliament has passed a new, stricter "hijab and chastity" law requiring women to wear hijabs and imposing heavy fines and penalties for those who do not comply.

• Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, hijabs have been mandatory, but many women have stopped wearing them, especially after 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini died in custody after morality police arrested her for violating dress codes in 2022.

• The law enforces fines of up to 20 months’ salary for improper hijab use, with violators facing restrictions on government services if they fail to pay. Institutions must provide CCTV footage to help identify offenders and officials who don’t comply face fines or dismissal.

• The law also bans the promotion of items seen as encouraging "nudity" or lack of veiling. The Industry and Trade Ministry will monitor clothing makers to ensure compliance.

• President Massoud Pezeshkian has criticized strict hijab enforcement in his short tenure, which has raised hopes for change. However, critics believe the conflict between his administration and hard-liners in parliament is just for show.

Quick Stories

US News

• Democrat Adam Gray has won California’s 13th Congressional District, narrowly defeating Republican Rep. John Duarte by less than 200 votes. Gray’s victory marks the final US House race of the year, leaving Republicans with 220 seats and Democrats with 215. (More)

• The FBI is investigating after large drones were seen flying over central New Jersey in the past two weeks. These drones are bigger than normal hobby drones and were spotted near a military base and President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course. (More)

• House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday rejected the White House's request for $24 billion in Ukraine aid, saying it will be left to President-elect Trump to decide in January. (More)

World

• The UN Human Rights Council has ordered Venezuela to preserve electoral records as it investigates claims that President Nicolás Maduro rigged this summer’s election. The probe follows an October petition from Latin American jurists citing widespread fraud. (More)

• The French government collapsed Wednesday after a no-confidence vote, throwing the euro zone’s second-largest economy into political turmoil. Three hundred thirty-one lawmakers backed the motion, which surpassed the 288 votes required to oust the government. (More)

• Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner and women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi has been temporarily released from Tehran’s Evin prison for three weeks to recover from tumor surgery. Mohammadi has been imprisoned since 2021. (More)

Business & Economy

• US stock markets closed higher on Wednesday (S&P +0.60%, Nasdaq +1.25%, Dow +0.78%). Tech stocks pushed the S&P and Nasdaq to record highs again. (More)

• President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, a crypto advocate and CEO of Patomak Global Partners, to lead the agency. He will replace Gary Gensler, who fought for more crypto regulation. (More)

• Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued Amazon, accusing the company of secretly excluding two underserved ZIP codes from Prime’s high-speed delivery service since 2022. Despite the exclusion, residents were charged the full $139 annual subscription fee. (More)

Sports & Entertainment

• The National Board of Review has named Wicked the best film of 2024 and Jon M. Chu was awarded Best Director. Other winners included Daniel Craig, who was named Best Actor for Queer, and Nicole Kidman, who took home Best Actress for Babygirl. (More)

• Taylor Swift topped Spotify’s 2024 Wrapped as the most-streamed artist globally for the second year in a row. Following Swift, the top-streamed artists were The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Drake, and Billie Eilish. (More)

• The 2024 NCAA DI women’s volleyball tournament kicks off Thursday, with 64 teams vying for a spot in the national championship on December 22 in Louisville, Kentucky. Top seeds include Pitt, Louisville, Nebraska, and Penn State, who all finished atop the national rankings. (More)

Science, Health, & Tech

• A mysterious flu-like disease has killed 79 people and sickened 376 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to health officials. The disease was detected in Kwango province in southwestern Congo, but its origin is still unknown. (More)

• Archaeologists have uncovered the first-ever evidence of eyed needles crafted from animal bones by mammoth hunters nearly 13,000 years ago at the LaPrele Mammoth site in Wyoming. The discovery suggests prehistoric Americans used them to make clothes. (More)

• Senators are accusing the Department of Defense of failing to protect military communications amid a Chinese hacking campaign. They highlight the DOD’s reliance on outdated landlines and unencrypted cell communications, which are vulnerable to espionage. (More)

Extra Credit

🤮 CDC reports children’s splash pads caused 10K illnesses.

🎄 See this year’s White House Christmas decor.

🥞 Visualizing what Americans eat.

🧀 An Oregon creamery makes the best cheese in the world.